COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Twins Sierra and Sienna Johnson are double trouble for Massasoit opponents

Saturday

Feb 10, 2018 at 1:32 PMFeb 10, 2018 at 3:49 PM

The Brockton residents, who are sophomores, are averaging 18.1 and 11.8 points, respectively for the Warriors this season.

Jim Fenton The Enterprise @JFenton_ent

BROCKTON – When it comes to telling twin sisters Sierra and Sienna Johnson apart, Massasoit Community College women’s basketball coach Shane Bass has a reliable method.

“One of them (Sierra) has a ponytail and one (Sienna) stays with a bun,’’ said Bass. “You never see their hair different.’’

The type of games played by the Johnson sisters, sophomores from Brockton, are also not the same.

“Sierra is more of an all-around player who can do a lot of things,’’ said Bass. “Sienna is more of a driver, somebody that can attack the basket and causes a lot of fouls by other teams and a good on-the-ball defender.’’

Together, the twins from Brockton have been causing opponents double trouble this season.

Sierra is leading the Warriors in scoring, averaging 18.1 points, to go with 6.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 18 games. She was selected the national Division 3 player of the week on Nov. 15 after averaging 30 points, 6.6 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 3.6 steals in three games.

Sienna is third on the team in scoring (11.8) and grabs 5.4 rebounds for Massasoit, which is 6-12 with one regular-season game remaining this week.

The Johnson sisters have been teammates since their father, Michael, coached them in a Brockton youth league, and they both received little playing time at Brockton High School.

That inactivity spurred the Johnsons to improve their games and become regulars at Massasoit, where they were in the rotation as freshmen a year ago.

And the twin sisters have been side by side each step of the way, pushing each other to become key contributors for the Warriors.

“Oh, it’s great,’’ said Sierra of playing alongside her sister. “She helps me because I can’t see myself, but she can see me. If I’m doing something wrong, I can always count on her to tell me constructive criticism and I can do the same with her.

“When we go practice, she’s there to help me with drills. We both want to be great. She has big dreams, I have big dreams. We work on those together.’’

They have put in plenty of work together after being on the junior varsity at Brockton High, then mostly riding the bench as seniors with the varsity.

“Whenever I go to the gym, I have somebody to rebound for me and I can rebound for her,’’ said Sienna. “That’s how we’ve gotten a lot better. I always have somebody to do drills with.

“We push each other a lot. If she sees me doing something wrong, she’ll be the first one to correct me on it and I’ll correct her on things.’’

The twins are constantly together with both majoring in business administration, taking the same courses at Massasoit.

“We help each other out,’’ said Sierra. “If she understands something and I don’t, then she can help me and the other way around.

“And we only have to buy one book.’’

Said Bass: “Same classes, same appointments, same everything. You can’t separate them.’’

Sierra averaged 9.9 points and four rebounds as a freshman while Sienna contributed 7.9 points and 3.5 rebounds that first year.

They have, of course, a unique chemistry that comes in handy on the court for Massasoit.

“They feed off of each other,’’ said Bass, who is in his first season. “It’s something special when you have players on one team that can actually do pretty much the same thing like that.’’

Basketball is the only sport the Johnson twins have ever played, and they have been on courts around the city for numerous hours through the years.

“I know exactly when she’s about to shoot and we give each other those looks and she knows when I’m going to cut,’’ said Sienna. “It’s comfortable. Basketball is our pride and joy. We’ve played together all our lives, so it fits.’’

Said Sierra: “If she wasn’t there, I wouldn’t be as good as I am.’’

Massasoit has been the perfect spot for the Johnson sisters to play two years of basketball, improve their games and move on to a Division 3 school for two more years.

They are hoping to be teammates and classmates once again at a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference school with programs recruiting the both of them this winter.

“I wasn’t expecting to play this well and get a few college looks,’’ said Sienna. “I think it’s gone very well here. We’ve been working toward this.’’

Said Sierra: “I feel like this is a perfect opportunity. I can show what I’ve got because I never got the chance in high school. I was really motivated.

“I didn’t go to the gym all those days for no reason. I didn’t (work hard) just to be under the radar. I’m just really thankful I had the opportunity to come here and show what I’ve got.’’

Together, the twin sisters have gone from sitting on the bench most of the time in high school to key players at Massasoit.

And the next chapter, which they will go through together again, likely awaits at another school next fall.

“I’m sure wherever we end up, we’ll always be there to encourage each other,’’ said Sierra. “We’re going to get way better together.’’

Jim Fenton may be reached at jfenton@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFenton_ent.

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